


An Unfruitful Reconciliation

by paintedladys



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Book 3: Fire, Gen, Season 3 AU, Zutara Week 2020, also ecoterrorist katara is the best katara, not really that shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25524139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedladys/pseuds/paintedladys
Summary: A violent revolutionary disguised as a local spirit was arrested under suspicion of blowing up a prominent military factory. It was only a mere coincidence that the Prince of the Fire Nation stumbled upon her before she faced prosecution.Based on Zutara Week 2020 prompt: Reunion
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46
Collections: Zutara Week 2020





	An Unfruitful Reconciliation

**Author's Note:**

> The Painted Lady episode is my favorite in Book 3, despite there being no Zutara interaction. So here's my attempt at interweaving the two together.
> 
> TW: Implied sexual harassment. Nothing happened and nothing happens. Nothing explicit... it is just implied.

Prince Zuko wandered through the hallways of the new station outpost, guided by the head officer. Father was increasingly sending him on these inspections. The traitorous side of Zuko was starting to suspect that his father was trying to keep him out of sight. The loyal side repressed that thought; his father trusted him to make sure the home guard and temples met to appropriate standards. 

Typically, the inspections themselves were rather boring, but Zuko enjoyed simply being able to observe the Fire Nation outside of Caldera. Despite his father’s intentions, he was grateful for the opportunity to leave the palace, which felt more and more suffocating as time went on. The intricacies of politics were not something he was familiar with, being at sea since he was a prepubescent boy. Azula seemed to thrive in that environment; naturally shifting the discourse to fit her benefit. It wasn’t necessarily fun to watch. 

Both he and the officer were making their way through the mostly empty cell block. He was only half paying attention to his babbling when something caught his eye. A flash of blue that he never expected to see again. He blinked to make sure it wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him. But when he opened his eyes again, the scene did not go away. The Avatar’s waterbender was sitting in the only occupied holding cell, her blue eyes darkly observing him. 

Zuko’s reaction must have been more obvious than he intended. And he heard the officer chuckle.“Pretty thing isn’t she? Though, I’d have to warn you, behind that lovely face is a venomous bite. She blew up a factory just ten or so miles north of here.”

 _Of course she did._

The officer continued: “They brought her in from Jang Hui two nights ago, and she’s due for processing. Hopefully, we can get her transferred by tomorrow.”

“Huh,” Zuko said, afraid that anything more might betray his inner thoughts, which were all over the place. If the waterbender was here, then perhaps the Avatar was also in the Fire Nation?

“Some of the few locals said that she identified herself as a colonist. That might explain her appearance. Though I suspect she’s a foreign insurgent sent here by some radical group,” he said, shrugging. “She will face intense interrogation, and hopefully they will figure out who she is connected to.”

Zuko turned toward the officer. “Is it alright for the uh...” he said glancing at the waterbender, “...prisoner and I speak alone? If she is of course a threat to our government, the Royal Fire Nation Family should know first and foremost” That sounded rational enough… right?

“Of course, Prince Zuko,” the officer said, giving a dirty smile, “just don’t rough her up too bad before we send her off to the professionals.” He winked, and Zuko felt vile rise in his throat.

The officer took his leave and left the two alone in the small cell block. Zuko made his way over to the waterbender who glared up at him.

“I hear you are resorting to terrorism now?” Zuko asked, crouching beside the bars of her cell, a steady flame in his hand. 

The Waterbender scoffed as she scooched her way closer to him. She certainly wasn’t afraid of him, not that she ever really was to begin with. “Can’t be worse than whatever you are doing.”

“The Avatar is alive, isn’t he?” Prince Zuko whispered, lowering his flame closer to her face. He found it scattered with bruises and a busted lip. He silently hoped that the injuries were simply the result of the blown-up factory and nothing more nefarious.

The waterbender glared at him with tired eyes, confirming his suspicions. “Enjoying your life in that fancy palace of yours? Have enough gold and servants to satisfy you?”

Zuko knew that she was just trying to shift the subject but he felt his defenses rise anyway. He was never good at controlling his emotions. “It was never about that,” he retorted.

She scoffed. “The wealth and luxury were just bonuses for willingly supporting Azula and the Dai Li’s coup? So your real intentions were what? The goodness of your own heart?" 

“I am loyal to the Fire Nation,” he said, trying to make his voice unshakable from his growing doubt. “I will support whatever the Fire Nation needs to do to win this war,” he said, already regretting the words that came forth from his mouth. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No, I wouldn’t.” 

Zuko bit the inside of his cheek, trying to think of what to do. A homeland security officer may not be able to recognize the notorious waterbending master of the Avatar, but someone higher up might. If the Fire Nation military got a hold of her, they would certainly figure out her connections. Then it was only a matter of time until she was tortured into admitting that the Avatar is alive. He needed to get her out of here. 

He stood upright and made a beeline for the station office. The door was open and he invited himself inside. “Officer Shinshu,” he addressed the man who was sitting at a messy desk, “from our brief conversation, I feel that this situation needs to be directly handled by top Fire Nation officials. I have a feeling she isn’t the only one involved.” Zuko hoped that he wasn’t being too obvious. Azula was always better at lying.

“What do you suggest, Your Highness?” The officer leaned back in his chair, his fingers twisting his mustache.

“I could transfer her personally to Caldera.” Zuko hoped that it didn’t sound too suspicious.

The man waved his hand dismissively. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. I can just inform the colonel to have her transferred to Caldera after her interrogation.”

Zuko would have to push a little further. “I insist,” he said. “I fear for our country’s safety. I can guarantee that whoever she is with probably is looking for her.” That part wasn’t a lie; her companions were probably desperately searching for her right now. 

The officer gave him a strange look. “I really can’t counter your orders, Prince Zuko,” he said, “though I do worry for your safety, especially considering how you believe that there are more of her kind out there.”

Zuko gave a nod of his head. “And I am honored by your concern, but I genuinely believe I can handle this particular prisoner.”

The officer sighed. “Well, I can’t dissuade you otherwise,” he said, taking out some paperwork from his desk, “You will just have to sign this transfer form, so it doesn’t look like I lost her.” 

Zuko agreed to the conditions. He was also handed a bunch of paperwork regarding the waterbender’s arrest warrant and a small file containing intel about her. Zuko figured that he probably knew twice as much about her than what that document would tell him. 

The officer excused himself to go retrieve the girl. It took only a few minutes until he heard the waterbender from the cell block. The feminine shouting ended with a loud smack. He winced at the noise and rubbed his temple trying to calm his nerves. 

The disheveled girl was pushed into the room by the officer. Her hands were tied behind her back, and Officer Shinshu held her by the arm. In proper light, she looked even more terrible. The bruises that appeared on her face also coated her arms; her clothes were standard prison wear, but from the way she was walking he was certain that underneath there were numerous wounds as well. He had a growing suspicion that the injuries weren’t caused by an explosion. Zuko wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“She’s feisty,” the officer said, releasing her arm, causing her to stumble towards the prince. She balanced herself out before Zuko had a chance to catch her. 

Zuko stood up. “Thank you Officer Shinshu, I feel that is all I will be needing today. Your facility has more than passed inspection. I will inform the Fire Lord.”

The officer seemed pleased enough by his abrupt approval. He thanked Prince Zuko repeatedly for visiting and offered food and drink for his ride back. Zuko politely declined, and bid his final goodbyes. 

“No one did _anything_ to you, did they?” he muttered to the waterbender as they exited the station.

The waterbender side-eyed him. “And why do you care?” she asked.

“Just tell me,” he insisted.

“I didn’t let them,” she said, straightening out her posture. He couldn’t deny that she had strength. 

He made his way over to his men who were in the midst of feeding the steeds. If they were surprised by his new companion, then they barely showed it. “I’m transferring a prisoner,” he stated. Best to leave it as simply as possible.

“We can tie her to one of the dragon-moose, sir,” one guard offered. 

“No, that won’t be necessary,” he said, “she will be riding with me.” The waterbender grunted as he pushed her into the carriage. They still had much to talk about. 

A small pause. “Of course, Your Highness,” the guard said with a small bow as Zuko closed the carriage door behind him. 

He gestured to the cushioned benches inside. The waterbender huffed, but situated herself in the corner of the carriage cabin, trying to get comfortable with her hands tied behind her back. He sat across from her. It was a few minutes until the carriage began to totter along the road.

“I know that he is alive,” he said, keeping the subject matter vague. Zuko knew that his servants were also his father’s spies. “Your vial is suspiciously missing.”

The waterbender sighed. “Well, to be fair, the soldiers who arrested me took away everything I had on my body.” But she didn’t deny what he was implying. “If you suspected he was alive, you already would have told your beloved psychopathic father.”

He shifted his jaw, refusing to respond.

“Or not,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Why haven’t you told your father?”

“Why are you in the Fire Nation?” he asked, diverting from her question.

The waterbending master huffed. “Traveling,” she stated. She laid one leg across the bench and the other on the floor, steadying herself from the bumpy ride.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. They were probably surveying the Fire Nation for the eclipse invasion if he were to guess. “The outer islands are far from our most popular tourist destinations.”

“And the outer islands are far from Caldera,” she barked back, “and yet you are here too.”

“I am here to give inspections. Make sure everything is to code and the citizens of the Fire Nation are being treated justly,” he said, “it is a part of my duties as a member of the Royal Family.”

She scoffed. “As if your family gives two shits about the people who live here.” 

“I do,” Zuko said, intently. He couldn’t argue for his entire family. It was true that his father and sister deeply cared for the greater good of the Fire Nation. But they also saw individuals as expendable for this greater good. Inevitably, the Fire Nation’s successes will outweigh the suffering that was needed to get that point. “But I doubt that you do,” he retorted.

She scuffed. “I’m sure that man didn’t tell you the reason I blew up the factory. Which, by the way, I gave in my statement during questioning,” she said. 

Of course she made a statement. He decided to humor her and asked: “Then enlighten me. Why did you blow up that factory?”

She set the scene like a good storyteller: “Jang Hui was a miserable sight. People were starving and dying of illness at every turn. The only places I have only seen such devastation were in those Earth Kingdom refugee camps.” 

“I highly doubt that such impoverishment exists in the Fire Nation,” he interrupted. That was not to say that there wasn’t poverty in the Fire Nation. Parts of Caldera had slums, but it was nothing like the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. And he knew that rural citizens weren’t living in luxury, but the farmers were given fair stipends for their support of the war effort; that was far more than what the Earth Kingdom government provided. And certainly, there wasn’t anything in the Fire Nation that resembled those horrid refugee camps he spent restless nights in. 

“I am not a liar,” she said firmly, “I know what I saw.” 

“Go on,” he said, not wanting to argue.

“I knew that no one would accept help from a waterbender, so I decided to disguise myself as a local spirit. The Painted Lady is what they called her. I had this costume and everything. At night, I would heal the villagers.”

Zuko crossed his arms. “So destroying the nearby military factory was just convenient.” 

She was insulted by that remark and gave a sour face. “No, it was far more than that. Jang Hui is a river village, it relies on clean water to survive. The villagers were devastated by the waste that the factory dumped in the river. That factory was killing them.” There was a sparkle in her eye. “So I got rid of the problem.” Her voice was strong and passionate. She was proud of what she had done.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. “I suppose you did.”

“Truthfully, I would have done the same if it was a shoe factory. It being an arms factory was just a bonus,” she said with a challenging smile, cracking her bust lip open again. She licked the blood from the open scab. “Killed two birds with one stone.”

Zuko didn’t know what to think. He had never known the waterbender to have lied, although she wasn’t entirely honest either. It wasn’t far off character to do something so reckless for random people. Their little group seemed to enjoy doing that. “The problem is,” Zuko said, pushing back, “this story requires you to care about your enemy.”

“I cared about you, didn’t I?” she asked, piercing an invisible sword into his gut. “What a stupid mistake that was. Maybe Sokka was right, perhaps you people aren’t worthy of my concern. The villagers of Jang Hui stabbed me in the back too, when push came to shove.” The girl leaned her head against the carriage wall and sighed. “It’s not like I saved their lives or anything,” she mumbled. 

He recalled the time he was apart from his uncle, traveling in the southern plains of the Earth Kingdom. Even though he rescued Lee from those thugs, he and Sela both rejected him the moment his lineage came to light. “It’s hard for people to get past their prejudices,” he quietly said, “even if you show them nothing but kindness.”

The waterbender bristled at that. “The Fire Lord’s son is teaching about the tragedy of intolerance to a captive foreigner.”

“You aren’t exactly innocent in the eyes of the law. You did blow up a factory.” 

She was back to smiling again, proud of her feat. “That I did. And I would have done it again if I could.”

Zuko was quietly impressed by her passion. Though perhaps putting that much trust in an enemy wasn’t a great mark of intelligence. But it wasn’t her fault that people betrayed her when all she wanted was to help them. A wave of guilt washed over him. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he said softly, “back in Ba Sing Se.”

“Well, you did,” the waterbender said, rolling her shoulders, shifting her gaze towards the screened window. “Impact matters much more than intention.”

Zuko sucked in a deep breath. It was unfortunate to have a kind enemy, it makes things much harder. He wouldn’t apologize for doing the right thing, however, her suffering still nagged at his conscience. “War is inevitably painful,” he said, mostly to reassure himself more than convince her of anything.

She gave a humorless laugh. “That would make for some terrible poetry.” 

Zuko bristled at her insult. “Well, it is true. I don’t hate you.”

“The feeling is absolutely not mutual,” she spat. “The only reason I am not kicking your ass right now is that I’ve had an exhausting three days in prison, plus-” she gestured behind her back with a nod of her head, “-my hands are tied… literally.”

He didn't know what to say. Had he been in her shoes, he probably would have despised him too. “When the Fire Nation wins the war, the suffering will end,” he said. He wanted her to see the bigger picture, to understand that he was only trying to do what was best for the world.

“You believe that?” she asked, redirecting her attention back at him. “After everything you went through, you still believe that wholeheartedly?” 

No, he wanted to say. A flare of anger rose within him. How dare he think such things; in order for goodness to prevail, there must be suffering. It took him three years of being banished to understand that suffering couldn't be meaningless. He swallowed the word. “I wish it wasn’t the case,” he said instead. 

The waterbender rolled her eyes. “I’m sure,” she said sardonically, leaning her head back against the carriage wall. She didn’t push him any further and he decided to keep his silence. The waterbender didn’t seem to mind, she was quite content scoping out her surroundings through the window.

The ride was awkward. He could hear the muffled mundane conversations between the guards and his driver from outside. The waterbender dozed out of consciousness. The carriage would occasionally stagger from a pothole on the road, which brought her back awake again. 

It was an hour before she spoke again, after being awakened from a rather large pothole. “Where are we heading?” 

Zuko raised his lone eyebrow. “Northward. Back to my vessel. I have a few more stops to make before I return to the palace.”

“What will happen to me?” she asked. For the first time since their reunion, her voice shook with uncertainty, and maybe even fear.

Zuko didn’t have an answer. He didn’t think that far ahead. At the time, he just knew that he needed to get her out of that prison cell. He could hear Uncle at the back of his head chastising him for not coming up with a plan. 

“Zuko, are you listening? What will happen to me?” the waterbender demanded. 

“I don’t know alright!” he said through gritted teeth. 

The girl slumped in her seat. “Great,” she muttered.

He knew one thing for certain, he needed to keep the waterbender far away from Azula. Her anonymity was of utmost importance. Then, Zuko was blessed with an idea, which he immediately decided to react upon. He banged on the wall behind him. “Stop the carriage, now!” he shouted. The carriage lurched as it halted and the waterbender flew from her seat. Zuko quickly caught her by her shoulders. 

“You know I can’t keep balance while I am tied up!” she said, shimmying her way out of his hold, “and don’t touch me!”

He grabbed her by the arm and flung open the carriage door. Zuko made his way out with the waterbender stumbling behind him. He turned towards the guards. “If I don’t come back in two hours, search for me,” he said, before dragging the waterbender into the forest.

“Let me go!” she screamed. 

Zuko made his way through the forest, trying to get as far as he could from the road. The waterbender pulled against him, shouting every single curse word she probably had in her vocabulary. They finally came to a small inconspicuous clearing. There didn’t seem to be anyone in sight.

He turned her so that her back was facing him. He took out his knife. The words “never give up without a fight” glistened in the evening sunlight that peeked through the branches. The waterbender must have heard him unsheathe his knife because she gasped. “...Zuko,” she breathed in shakily. 

He cut the rope that was holding her wrists together and threw it on the ground. There was a brief moment of stillness between the two of them. The only sound was the rustling of branches. The peace lasted only a few seconds until the waterbender flung herself around and glared at him. “You scared the shit out of me!” she shouted through gritted teeth. Any amount of fear she just had fallen away. “You acted like you were about to kill me. And then you took out a knife and everything!”

“That’s because I need it to appear as if I killed you,” he said, sticking his knife back inside his vest pocket, out of sight. “I didn’t want my guards to hear what was going on.” The waterbender looked flabbergasted. “I’m freeing you,” he clarified.

“That much is obvious,” she said, rubbing her reddened wrists. “Why?” she asked, clearly suspicious of his intentions.

It was that simple word that would leave him lying awake for weeks. He supposed there were several reasons. There was the risk that the waterbender could expose the very fact he is trying to keep hidden, especially considering how she wanted to make his life miserable. But she also was kind to him, and showed him undeserved compassion at Ba Sing Se; perhaps helping her now was some means of relieving the guilt that built up in his chest when he looked at her. Or maybe, she didn’t deserve to be arrested for saving his people when he couldn’t do the same. 

Zuko decided that he would admit his first rationale. “I can’t have you blabbing off and telling everyone that the Avatar is alive.” It was a half-truth, and he didn’t need to say more.

The waterbender rolled her eyes. “Like I would. I can hold my tongue.”

“Do you want me to tie you back up and throw you into a Fire Nation prison?” he asked.

She shifted into a fighting position, clearly ready to defend herself if he tried.

“I am not going to do that,” he reassured, holding up his hands in a sign of peace. 

She lowered her arms tentatively, and he heard a splash in the distance. She released whatever water she was controlling. 

“Though, you could be a bit more grateful,” he said.

She scoffed at that. “I do not owe you,” she said, pointing at him, “and I don’t forgive you.” 

Her words still stung even though they shouldn’t have. Zuko shrugged. “Interpret my mercy however you will,” he said.

“Prince Zuko, I swear to the Great Spirits, that this act of _mercy_ means nothing to me,” she spat. “However, I will not kill you today.” He could see her fists shaking as if she was doing everything in her power not to strangle him. “But that does not mean I don’t still hate you.” 

His throat became tight.“Then leave,” he choked out, “if it means nothing then get out of my sight.”

The waterbender didn’t hesitate. It took her half a second to sprint off. He watched as she moved swiftly through the forest, in the opposite direction of the road. He turned to make his way back to the carriage but made one last glance back to find her out of sight. 

Upon approaching the road, his guards were staring at him with new eyes. Zuko was sure they were thinking all sorts of things about him right now. Dragging a young girl out into the forest to never be seen again probably didn’t appear very honorable. Not that he cared. “Change of course,” he said to the carriage driver as he stepped into the cabin, “take me to Jang Hui.”

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly am just so curious about what Zuko would have done in the context of Jang Hui... maybe I will write a fic about that someday. Honestly, I spent way too much time on this. I really only expected to produce maybe a 1K fic, but this was my only break from Arabic. The length is really not about my dedication as a writer but attests to the fact that I hate studying Arabic.


End file.
